Photo: Pierre André Leclercq · CC BY-SA 4.0Second homes: 67%, a higher share than 99% of compared French towns
Where 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town, Merlimont has 6%. 3,342 residents in 1,600 households: that is Merlimont at the 2023 Census. On the census count, nearly half of households are headed by a retired person. Few places have so few households without a car: 5.6% here, fewer than in 83% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Pas-de-Calais median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
What stands out about the people of Merlimont
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 3,570 second homes and occasional dwellings in Merlimont, 67% of its 5,290 homes: higher than in 99% of compared French towns. 54% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
An older town
Half of Merlimont’s residents are under 54.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 5.8% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Only 2.2% of homes stand empty in Merlimont
Every home the census counted: main residences, second homes and occasional dwellings (INSEE counts them together), and empty homes. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
All homes · share of homes
Type of home
Cars per household · share of households
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 7.4% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 17%. For empty homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 6.7%. Fewer households in social housing than in 98% of compared French towns: 1.6%. One household in 18 has no car (median compared French town: 11%).
Merlimont grew +6% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 55% of compared French towns
Residents at INSEE’s last three censuses, each recast in the 2026 commune boundaries. France has no yearly estimate by commune between censuses.
2012 to 2023
2017 to 2023
Merlimont is older than 94% of compared French towns: a median age of 54.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Merlimont 54.8. The median compared French town: 44.
34% of residents are 65 or over; in the typical compared French town the figure is 22%. Locally, 7.4% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pas-de-Calais 52.0%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Couples with children make up 22% in Merlimont, less than in 64% of compared French towns
A household is everyone who shares a main home (résidence principale). Household types come from INSEE’s fuller sample of a quarter of census forms.
Against the Pas-de-Calais median and the France median
Living alone · share
Set against 35% in the typical compared French town, nearly a third of households are one person living alone in Merlimont. The usual figure: a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
€27,510 a year is the median standard of living here
The standard of living (niveau de vie) is a household’s disposable income after taxes and benefits, divided by its consumption units (UC) to allow for its size and make-up: 1 for the first adult, 0.5 for each other person 14 or older, 0.3 for each child under 14.
Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.
Half of Merlimont’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €27,510 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 66% of compared French towns. Living below the poverty line: 10.0% of residents.
6.8% of households are headed by a manual worker, fewer than in 91% of compared French towns
Households by the socio-professional group (PCS) of their reference person, INSEE’s own categories. Jobs and commuting are on the Work & commute page.
Households by reference person’s group · share of households
With households headed by a manager or professional at 6.9%, Merlimont is behind 69% of compared French towns on that count. Elsewhere, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Merlimont, 2% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 92% of compared French towns
INSEE publishes two measures, which overlap but aren’t the same. Neither is the UK’s “born abroad”.
Share of residents · census 2023
Immigrant (immigré)
Born abroad, not French at birth. Someone stays an immigrant after becoming French. A French citizen born abroad (for example in Algeria before 1962) is not one.
Foreign national (étranger)
Not a French citizen today, wherever born. A child born in France to foreign parents can be a foreign national without being an immigrant.
Foreign nationals: 0.9% here and 4.3% in the typical compared French town. The median compared commune in Pas-de-Calais has 1.7%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 92% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents make up 19% in Merlimont, less than in 96% of compared French towns
Residents 15 and over by how they live: the census asks both the legal status and whether people live as a couple.
Residents 15 and over · share
Married residents: 52%, above 96% of compared French towns. Single residents: 25% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Merlimont sits below 68% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (16%)
Highest diploma of residents 15 and over who have left education, in French terms: the levels don’t map one-to-one to UK or U.S. ones.
Highest diploma · 15 and over, out of education
Set against 30% in the typical compared French town, nearly a third of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in Merlimont. To put it in context, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (3,311 to 3,371 people), the 4th oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Saint-Maximin (36.4), the oldest Saint-Cast-le-Guildo (64.9).
2 of 6 neighbors are older than Merlimont
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merlimont | 54.8 | 34% | 67% | 2% |
| Cucq 5,129 · 2 mi | 56.1 | 35% | 59% | 1.7% |
| Rang-du-Fliers 4,297 · 2.9 mi | 49.3 | 27% | 7.5% | 2.6% |
| Berck 12,951 · 3.6 mi | 53.5 | 32% | 40% | 2.7% |
| Le Touquet-Paris-Plage 4,224 · 4.2 mi | 65.8 | 52% | 80% | 2.4% |
| Verton 2,571 · 4.3 mi | 47.1 | 23% | 13% | 1.5% |
| Étaples 10,710 · 4.6 mi | 43.6 | 22% | 7% | 1.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Census 2023. INSEE’s census is a rolling survey: a fifth of small communes each year, 8% of homes in large ones each year. “2023” pools the surveys of 2021 to 2025, so the figures describe the town around 2023, not on one day.
- Medians of compared communes. The comparisons are the median of the département’s compared communes and of France’s (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median: not the total for the département or for France, which large cities pull towards their own figures.
- Immigrants and foreign nationals. INSEE’s two measures: an immigrant was born abroad without French nationality; a foreign national isn’t French today. Neither is a count of people born abroad, which INSEE doesn’t publish by commune.
- Second homes. Homes used for holidays or weekends, with occasional dwellings (kept for work, for example), which INSEE counts together. Their owners are counted where they live, not here.
- Standard of living. INSEE’s Filosofi: disposable income per consumption unit, from tax and benefit files, 2023. The poverty rate is the share of residents below 60% of France’s median. Not published for the smallest communes.
- What France doesn’t ask. The French census asks nothing about ethnicity, religion, language or health, so this page has no such section.
Questions about who lives in Merlimont
What is the population of Merlimont?
3,342 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 6% more than in 2012 (3,150).
How old are Merlimont’s residents?
The median age is 54.8, older than 94% of compared French towns. 16% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Merlimont?
3,570, with occasional dwellings: 67% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Merlimont?
INSEE counts 66 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2% of residents, and 30 foreign nationals (0.9%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Merlimont?
€27,510 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 10.0% of residents live below the poverty line. Source: INSEE, Filosofi.
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, ages, households, homes, marital status, diplomas, immigrants, foreign nationals, employment), 2026 geography · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (standard of living, poverty) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 9, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.